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1) I was a little surprised that GM Ray Shero and co. elected to sign winger Brandon Baddock in advance of Wednesday night's deadline for signing prospects selected in the 2014 draft.

Baddock scored a respectable 22 goals with Edmonton (WHL) but managed just 35 points in 68 regular season games. Those numbers - particularly his point totals - are extremely underwhelming for a 20-year-old overager in junior hockey.

Baddock's underlying numbers aren't much better. He finished 4th on a bad team in even-strength points per 60 (via Prospect-Stats.com), a distant 3rd in even-strength points per game and 10th in goals for percentage (45%). That's less than ideal considering he was the oldest player on the team.

I get that the Devils don't have much prospect depth, and could use an extra body or two in Albany, but I think the Devils would have been better off letting Baddock go and targeting another unsigned junior player with better numbers - like they did with Jan Mandat.

2) I think the Devils were smart to let Ryan Rehill go. He once compared his game to Douglas Murray's and his career high in points came this past season when he scored 39 points in 63 games. Those are decent totals but nothing special from a 20-year-old.

I don't see a future in the NHL with him so keeping a contract slot open was probably the smart move; especially given the Devils don't have a big organizational need for defensemen.

3) Walking away from Connor Chatham was probably a tougher decision for the Devils simply because he was a 3rd round pick (and a high one!) in 2014. In saying that I think Shero did the right thing. Chatham is coming off his best season as an OHLer and he tallied just 17 goals and 41 points in 64 games. Those are not impressive numbers for a 20-year-old; especially one drafted as high as Chatham was. Like with Rehill and Baddock, I don't think he has a future in the NHL. Using a contract on one of the three is quite enough.

4) I know I'm beating a dead horse here but the Devils really need to find a way to make the most of their nine picks - including four in the top-77 - a few weeks from now.

Drafting and developing is the best way to win in a cap world and since 2012 Damon Severson is the only player the Devils have drafted that is currently on the roster.

There have been a few promising picks in that span - particularly last year in Shero's first draft as GM - but that is simply not good enough.

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